WHEATON, Ill. – The Messiah Wrestling team was in action on day one of the 2025 Pete Willson Wheaton Invitational on Friday, Jan. 31. Six Falcons advanced to day two, securing a place in the top eight.
Ryder Slayton was the top Falcon finisher, claiming second in the 184 lbs. weight class. At 149 lbs.,
Dalton Monger claimed the bronze finish.
Keegan Demarest (165 lbs., 5th),
Austin Brass (174 lbs., 6th),
Clay Gainer (157 lbs., 8th), and
Sawyer Dereszynski (197 lbs., 8th) all earned podium finishes.
Messiah will next be in action on Friday, Feb. 7 when they host York College of Pennsylvania for a dual meet. Action will begin at 7:00 p.m. with senior day to occur prior to the start of competition.
Action on the Mats
At 125 lbs.,
Bryce Arnold started his day with a loss against Quintin Wolbert of University of Wisconsin – Lacrosse via fall in 2:16. In the consolation bracket, Arnold faced Jushawn Ferrel of Alma. Ferrell led 6-2 after the first period and Arnold battled back in the second period with an escape and takedown to cut the deficit to 7-6. Ferrell picked up an escape and takedown in the third to secure the win and to end Arnold's weekend.
Caiden Heller began his day with a bye round in the 133 lbs. weight class before facing Brady Grennan of Wisconsin – Platteville. Heller was down 6-2 after the first period and despite keeping Grennan scoreless the remainder of the match, Heller was only able to score two and lost via 6-4 decision to move to the consolation bracket where he was defeated by Jackson Rustad of University of Chicago via 14-3 major decision.
Shaun Quirk started his day with a fall at 141 lbs. over Heidelberg's Josh Gibson in 2:49. Quirk was then defeated by Mount Union's Josh Carman via 8-1 decision to move to the consolation bracket. Quirk picked up a fall in 6:07 over Otterbein's Andrew Sas to keep his day alive. Quirk held an 11-1 advantage before securing the fall. Quirk's day came to an end following an 8-4 decision in favor of Dylan Le of Ohio Northern.
At 149 lbs.,
Dalton Monger started his day with a bye round and faced Connor Nagela of Milwaukee School of Engineering. In his first contested bout of the day, Monger picked up a fall in just 55 seconds. In his next match, Monger again claimed the victory via fall. He led Cameron Curva of Ferrum 5-2 before earning the fall in 1:36. Monger now sits in the top eight and will advance to day two action. Monger was defeated by Wisconsin – Eau Claire's Zach Soto to open day two and move to the consolation bracket. Monger made quick work of Wisconsin – Lacrosse's Josh Cherba, earning a fall in 50 seconds to earn a spot in the third-place bout. Monger secured third place via a medical forfeit.
Clay Gainer opened his day at 157 lbs. with a 9-7 decision over Nebreska Wesleyan's Kaden Ontiveros. Ontiveros held a 5-1 lead after a first period takedown and two nearfall points. Gainer made a push in the second period with an escape and takedown to bring the deficit to 6-5. A takedown and riding time point in the final period gave Gainer the 9-7 victory. Gainer then secured a 14-1 major decision over Otterbein's Luke Dolan. Gainer had two takedowns in the first period, leading 6-1. An escape and takedown in period two extended the lead to 10-1 before he added a takedown and riding time point in the final period to claim the 14-1 win to advance. Gainer was then defeated by Demetri Teddlie of Ozarks via 11-8 decision to move to the consolation bracket. Gainer trailed 7-2 after two periods and outscored Teddlie 6-4 in the final period, but it was not enough to overcome the deficit. In the consolation bracket, Gainer earned an 8-0 major decision over David Cushman of Wisconsin – Platteville. After a 0-0 first period, Gainer took a 4-0 lead with an escape and takedown. In the third, he added a takedown and riding time point for the 8-0 win. Gainer was then defeated via 9-7 decision by Landon Church of Wisconsin – Eau Claire to move to the seventh-place bout. Gainer led Alexander McPhee of Concordia 4-3 after two periods, but McPhee was able to earn a reversal and four nearfall points to defeat Gainer via 9-4 decision. With the loss, Gainer finished eighth overall.
Keegan Demarest earned a first-round fall in his opening bout against Seth Littrell of Nebreska Wesleyan in 1:02 at 165 lbs. Demarest then secured a 4-2 decision over Wisconsin Stevens Point's Josh Heuss. Demarest had a slight 1-0 lead after two periods. Heuss started down for the final period and leveled the score with an escape. Demarest was able to earn a takedown with just over a minute remaining and an escape by Heuss wasn't enough and Demarest advanced in the championship bracket. Demarest was defeated via 4-0 decision by Millikin's Joey Jens to move to the consolation bracket. Demarest defeated Logan Cormell of Otterbein via fall in 1:23 after holding a 7-0 lead. In his next bout, Demarest defeated Roger Deck of Mount St. Joseph via 15-0 technical fall in 2:42. Demarest earned a takedown with two minutes remaining in the first period before securing 12 nearfall points to earn the technical fall. Demarest was defeated by Roanoke's David Reid via 14-3 major decision to earn a spot in the fifth-place bout. Demarest defeated Millikin's Joey Jens via 7-0 decision to claim fifth.
At 174 lbs.,
Austin Brass began his day with a 22-6 technical fall over Nebraska Wesleyan's Emilio Chavez. Brass led 9-3 after three first-period takedowns. He added seven with an escape and two takedowns in the second to go up 16-4. In the final period, Brass collected two more takedowns to secure the technical fall in 5:55. In Brass' second match of the day, he secured another 22-6 technical fall, this time in 4:47. In the first period against Bryce Buchanan of Wisconsin- Stevens Point, Brass led 12-3 after four takedowns. He added another three takedowns in the second period and a riding time point brought him to the 22-6 technical fall. Brass' third bout was more closely contested than his first two. He led Eddie Simes of Wisconsin – Lacrosse 6-5 after two takedowns in the first period. The scales tipped in Simes' favor after the second period, claiming the lead 10-9. In the final period, Brass claimed an escape and takedown with less than a minute left to take back the lead 13-10. Simes earned an escape and claimed a riding time point but it was not enough to defeat Brass. Brass was defeated by Dejon Glaster of Millikin via 12-2 major decision to drop the consolation bracket. In his first consolation match, Brass trailed Rhode Island's Aidan Faria 4-0 with one period remaining. Brass leveled the score with an escape and takedown but Faria was able to earn an escape to defeat Brass via 5-4 decision to send him to the fifth-place bout. Ryan Riser of Wisconsin – Whitewater held a slim 1-0 advantage after two periods. Brass took the lead in the final period with an escape and takedown but Riser countered with an escape and takedown of his own to earn the 5-4 decision, giving Brass a sixth-place finish.
Ryder Slayton started his day with a 13-7 decision in the 184 lbs. weight class. He held a slight 8-7 advantage against Connor Kelly of Elmhurst after one period. An escape and takedown in period two and a riding time point in period three propelled him to the 13-7 win. Slayton then defeated Wisconsin- Stevens Point's Jack Callen via 12-1 major decision. Slayton led 8-0 after a takedown in period one and two as well as two nearfall points in the first. A takedown and riding time point solidified the win. In his next bout, Slayton defeated Wisconsin – Whitewater's Gavin Kohel via 4-1 decision. Slayton took a 3-1 lead in the second period after a scoreless first. Slayton earned an escape early in the final period to secure his win and advance. Slayton opened day two with a battle against Niall Schoenfelder of Wisconsin – Eau Claire. The pair were tied 1-1 after regulation and after overtime. In the third overtime period, Slayton was able to earn a late takedown to win the match via 4-1 decision and advance to the championship bout. Slayton finished as runner-up after being defeated via 9-1 major decision by Wills Bronson of John Carrol in the championship bout.
Sawyer Dereszynski dropped his first bout in the 197 lbs. weight class to Gavin Layman of Ohio Northern. Layman held a 4-0 advantage after two periods. Dereszynski earned a reversal late in the third to avoid a blank slate before moving to the consolation bracket. Dereszynski held a 9-2 advantage over Connor Chloupek of Concordia before claiming the fall in 1:14 to advance. Dereszynski claimed a near identical fall over Wisconsin – Stevens Point's Logan Neitzel in 1:15 in his next bout. He then advanced following a medical forfeit. Dereszynski was defeated by Wisconsin – Eau Claire's Ian Pepple via fall in 3:41 to move to the seventh-place bout where he was defeated via 17-6 major decision by Jacob Badger of Augustana. Dereszysnki finished in eighth overall.
At 285 lbs.,
Micah Martinez dropped his opening bout to Mount Union's Steven Marra via fall in 3:57 to move to the consolation bracket. Martinez was defeated via fall in 5:17 by Edward Perry of University of Chicago.
Team Results
Messiah finished fifth out of 30 teams at the 2025 Pete Willson Wheaton Invitational. Below are the top five teams.
1: Wisconsin – Eau Claire 150.5 points
2: Wisconsin – Whitewater 142.5 points
3: Wisconsin – Lacrosse 112.5 points
4: Cornell College 94.5 points
5: Messiah 89.5 points
Up Next
Messiah will next be in action on Friday, Feb. 7 when they host York College of Pennsylvania for a dual meet. Action will begin at 7:00 p.m. with senior day to occur prior to the start of competition.
Â
